Abrasive Cutting Wheel Safety

Member companies of the unified abrasives manufacturers association uama have adopted a standardized set of safety icons to be used on portable abrasive grinding and cutting wheels.

Abrasive cutting wheel safety.

The above safety tips are not all inclusive. Be sure to check with ansi b7 1 safety requirements before using your allison abrasives grinding or cut off wheels. They may be used between the wheel and the machine flanges for dry cutting applications. Apply excessive pressure onto the wheel so that the driving motor slows down.

Below the horizontal plane of the wheel spindle. So with that in mind be sure to. This exposure shall begin at a point not less than 15 deg. It is important that all machine guards are secured in place and are adjusted so that the guard is between the user and the rotating wheels.

It is not necessary to use paper blotters with abrasive cutting wheels. Portable cut off wheels are among the most common bonded abrasive products in use. See figures o 12 and o 13. Don t let the inspection stop there though.

There are a lot of small parts that make up the wheel. Inspecting the wheel and wheel guard is a good first step to take when it comes to safety precautions. Grind with a depressed centre grinding wheel at an angle below 30 to the workpiece. Grinding machines shall be equipped with safety guards in conformance with the requirements of american national standards institute b7 1 1970 safety code for the use care and protection of abrasive wheels and paragraph d of this section.

Grind on the side of cutting off wheels. The purpose is to have a standard set of icon based safety symbols to be used across north america regardless of manufacturer. The general safety precautions for abrasive wheels apply equally to all wheels used on all classes of portable machine. Found everywhere from metal fabrication shops to homeowners garages these wheels are very safe when used correctly.

Always switch the machine off and allow the wheel to stop revolving. Remember there s more to an abrasive wheel than the wheel itself. The maximum angular exposure of the grinding wheel periphery and sides for safety guards used on cutting off machines and on surface grinding machines which employ the wheel periphery shall not exceed 150 deg. The safety code for grinding and cutting wheels is ansi b7 1 safety requirements for the use care and protection of abrasive wheels the code is very specific defining the proper grinding surfaces for each type of wheel and figure 2 shows that the only acceptable grinding surface on a cutting wheel is on the periphery not the sides.